australia’s urban passenger transit transport journal australia ta 2013 - November Volume 68 Number 11 $9.95 RRP Incl. GST Features Moving The First Two Trams To The Gold Coast Sydney Light Rail Planning ACTION Timetable 2014 Commonwealth Election First Auckland EMU Sydney’s City Centre Access Strategy ISSN 0818 5204 Adelaide Electrification Print Post Approved pp299436/00152 Plus Regulars 321 322 TRANSIT AUSTRALIA 11/2013 2013 - November Volume 68 Number 11 contents transit Features australia ta australia’s urban passenger transport journal Moving The First Two Trams To The Gold Coast ____ 324 TRANSIT AUSTRALIA Sydney Light Rail Planning ____________________ 328 Transit Australia Publishing GPO Box 1017, SYDNEY NSW 2001 Australia ACTION Timetable 2014 ______________________ 330 Internet: www.transitaustralia.com.au Commonwealth Election _____________________ 331 Editorial Team: Editor in Chief: Tony Bailey First Auckland EMU _____________________ 332 PO Box 192, BOTANY NSW 1455 Ph: (02) 9341 8700, Fax: (02) 8208 9956 Sydney’s City Centre Access Strategy _________ 334 Email: [email protected] Editorial Advisors: Adelaide Electrification_______________________ 342 Ian G Cooper, V M Isaacs, Stuart Keenan, L J Pascoe, R K Willson, Agnes Boskovitz Transit Newsfile Publisher and Business Manager: Hugh Ballment ACT ______________________________________ 338 PO Box 114, CANTERBURY VIC 3126 Ph: (03) 9836 3338, Fax: (03) 9836 2647 New South Wales ___________________________ 338 International Fax: +61-3-9836 2647 Email: [email protected] Queensland ________________________________ 341 Advertising: Hugh Ballment Ph: (03) 9836 3338 South Australia _____________________________ 341 Subscription Manager: Ted McDonald GPO Box 1017, SYDNEY NSW 2001 Australia Tasmania __________________________________ 344 Ph: (02) 9659 7749, Fax: (02) 9659 7749 International Fa x: +61-2-9659 7749 Victoria ___________________________________ 344 Email: [email protected] Book Editor: Victor Isaacs Western Australia ___________________________ 346 43 Lowanna Street, BRADDON ACT 2612 Western Pacific _____________________________ 347 Ph: (02) 6257 1742 (after hours) Email: [email protected] New Zealand _______________________________ 347 Manuscripts invited for consideration Website Co-ordinator: South East Asia _____________________________ 348 John Clifton at The Little Website Company Pty Ltd Indonesia __________________________________ 348 www.tlwsc.com.au Layout and Design: Carl Segnit, Tecoma, Victoria Malaysia ___________________________________ 348 Singapore _________________________________ 348 Annual Subscription 2014: Australia Overseas Airmail, AUD Thailand___________________________________ 348 (incl. 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Opinions expressed in Transit Australia are not necessarily those of Transit Australia Publishing or of the Australian Electric Traction Association or its members. No responsibility is taken for the return of Contributors _______________________________ 350 any unsolicited articles or photographs. The Editor retains the right to edit or reject all contributions. Responsibility for editorial comment is taken by the Publisher. Services Directory ___________________________ 350 Copyright 2013 Transit Australia Publishing and individually named persons. No unauthorised reproduction permitted in any form. Approval for reproduction must be sought from the Editor. AETA Notices ______________________________ 350 Printed in Australia by Printgraphics Pty Ltd 14 Hardner Road, Mount Waverley VIC 3149 Trade Distributor: Wrapaway Transport Pty. Ltd. 36A 1/34 Fitzroy Street, MARRICKVILLE NSW 2204 Front Cover Ph: (02)9550 1622, Fax: (02) 9516 5625 Bombardier Transportation provided this ABN 44 542 252 212 photograph of one of the first two Gold Coast trams being landed at Port of Brisbane on 10 September. After being conveyed by road to Opposite page the depot on the Gold Coast the cars were prepared for testing and one performed a test Stephen Miller photographed this Sydney bound V set as it run late in the evening of 30 September and climbed towards Zig Zag from Lithgow on Good Friday, 29 March. early the following morning, thus fulfilling an NSW TrainLink is currently applying new markings to the exterior announced ‘run before the end of September’ of these sets so that the long familiar blue and yellow ends will promise. soon disappear. 323 MOVING THE FIRST TWO TRAMS TO THE GOLD COAST Moving the first two trams to the Gold Coast ‘motor’. The tram left Queen Street and was towed through the reverse curves up the hill to the depot, trucks detached, and at 0415 the tram was And their launch left on the flat for the night. It took over 90 minutes to travel the few hundred metres from Queen Street to the depot building on its own rails Text and Photographs by Garry Ford for the first time. Two trams were unloaded complete at the Port of Brisbane on 10 Owing to the traffic delays experienced by the first tram, there was some September and were to be moved to the Gold Coast over two nights. The doubt the second move would go ahead as planned on 13 September. In first tram had a movement permit from the Port of Brisbane, Fisherman’s the end it was decided to proceed, but not leaving the Port of Brisbane Island, to the Gold Coast at Queen Street and Wardoo Streets from 2200 until midnight. This time there were two lots of single line working onthe on 11 September to 0300 on 12 September. Motorway! It seems that no one had bothered to check on road work on the Pacific The first tram had its pantograph attached and was tested, ready for the Motorway and the first tram, with its police escort, was severely delayed official launch on Friday 20 September in two separate ceremonies. The by heavy traffic created by the work at Springwood. It was not until 0037 tram entered from the workshop/depot entry track, under its own power, that the tram arrived at Southport and the first wheels touched the rails into the tram washer from whence it exited in a golden misty smoke at 0229. showing the marketing slogan in the destination box: Get on board the G:. The official name of the system is G: Link but this is shortened to G Preparations for the arrival of the tram commenced in Queen Street at for advertising purposes. The advertising started on the airwaves almost 2200 with the arrival of the ramps, but work at the landing area did not immediately the slogan was launched and everything at the launch was commence until 2330 when Queen Street southbound was closed to branded with G: including the tables, and even the coffee in the cup! traffic and the fencing along the track moved to the footpath The launch on 20 September was the first of several functions to introduce The tram was backed up to the ramp in Queen Street from Wardoo Street. the trams to the locals over the ensuing months. It was pulled off the trailer by a roadside truck attached by a wire cable, and by gravity, as soon as enough of the tram was off the truck, and at least two brakemen rode in the tram operating the hydraulic brakes with an extension control with a truck at the rear as anchor. Progress down the Tram number two had just arrived at the Queen and Wardoo Streets ramp was extremely slow and it had actually moved around one metre intersection from the Port of Brisbane, under police escort, at 0200. before anyone realised it had started. It was around 25 minutes before it Despite the 20-axle trailer the tram still had a considerable overhang at was off the transporter. The ramp was in three sections.Once unloaded both the front and the rear ends of the trailer. The driver was preparing the tram was hauled by two Mack trucks, a Barnes-Autos truck towing to reverse park the rig through 90o degrees onto the end of the vehicle in the lead, and Heavy Haulage Australia’s Mack Titan as second unloading ramp, which is around 200 metres to the left of the picture. 324 TRANSIT AUSTRALIA 11/2013 THE YANDINA BLACK HOLE At 0358 the big tow commenced and at 0402, as seen here, the first tram crossed Wardoo Street and left street running as it commenced the moderate grade on reverse curves from Queen Street up to the depot. It was this grade that necessitated the use of two prime movers. At 0235 the tram was almost all on its home rails with only the last two sections of the seven-car unit still to touch down. This tram is builder’s number 4. 325 MOVING THE FIRST TWO TRAMS TO THE GOLD COAST Above: GoldLinQ note regarding the running of trams. Note the operational branding G:link. Below: The first tram had just been inaugurated and